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Varied Solitaire | Myadestes coloratus
Bonte solitaire | Solitario variado
The Varied Solitaire is a thrush of the isolated Darién mountains in eastern Panama and adjacent north-western Colombia. It has a black face, an orange bill and orange legs, a grey head and underparts and a rufous-brown back. In the guide area it is known only from the higher slopes of a few mountains in Darién.
Voice
The song is a slow, ethereal series of clear whistled notes and metallic, creaking notes, similar to that of Black-faced Solitaire. The call is a soft, nasal note.
Recording: Iván Lau — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
17–18 cm. Stocky, with a short, broad bill. Forehead, lores, area around the eye and chin black; head, neck and underparts slate-grey, the belly slightly paler. Back, wings and uppertail coverts rufous-brown; tail dark grey. Bill and legs orange. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Black-faced Solitaire Myadestes melanops of Costa Rica and western Panama is entirely slate-grey without a rufous-brown back; the ranges do not overlap. Nightingale-thrushes of the genus Catharus with an orange bill lack the black face and walk mainly on the ground.
Habitat
Humid montane forest and cloud forest on the higher slopes, mostly above about 900 m. It lives mainly in the mid-storey and canopy. It eats small fruits and berries, also insects.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
In the guide area only in the mountains of eastern Darién in Panama, including Cerro Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna. Outside the guide area in adjacent north-western Colombia.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Practically only reachable via the old research stations on the slopes of Cerro Pirre in Darién, after a long journey. Usually heard before it is seen.
Conservation status
Near Threatened. It has a small range in remote montane forest; deforestation and the opening up of the area for roads and agriculture are a risk.
Scientific name
Myadestes coloratus | Nelson, 1912
Nelson described the species in 1912 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Myadestes was introduced in 1838 by Swainson. Myadestes is Greek, from muia 'fly' and edestēs 'eater': 'fly-eater'. coloratus is Latin for 'coloured', after the rufous back and wings contrasting with the grey. The specimen the first description was based on came from Cerro Pirre, Darién, Panama.